As a citizenry we left the war to the professionals while outsourcing responsibility for oversight to politicians who spent most of their time on the domestic agenda which drives re-election efforts. Between the citizenry, the politicians, and the professionals, Afghanistan was left simmering on the back burner, and we lost the plot on what we were there to do and why.
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The Cost of an Emirate
The Taliban’s Pending Economic Crisis
And Now the War Begins
Anti-Taliban resistance rallies in the Panjshir Valley. Just because the Taliban are in Kabul doesn’t mean the fighting is over
Showtime at the Olympics
How a Sporting Event Reflects the State of the World
Do We Stay or Do We Go?
America’s Role in Kabul After the Withdrawal By Scott Kelly America has shut down and handed over Bagram Airfield, its largest base in Afghanistan and the nerve center for its campaign there for the past 20 years. As it effectively ends its active participation in Afghanistan’s ongoing wars, it plans on leaving behind 650 troopsContinue reading “Do We Stay or Do We Go?”
China, Taiwan, and the Conflict That Could Reshape the World
By James Mackin and Scott Kelly An emboldened China, still flush from successfully suppressing democracy in Hong Kong, perpetrating genocide in Xinjiang, seizing territory in the South China Sea and colonizing parts of neighboring Bhutan is now looking expectantly at “reunification” with Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party has viewed Taiwan as rightfully theirs since theyContinue reading “China, Taiwan, and the Conflict That Could Reshape the World”
China, the Philippines, and the Islands that are Tipping the World
By James Mackin and Scott Kelly China now controls the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, giving it the ability to exert leverage over a quarter of the world’s shipping. This has come to the attention of the United States and the global community as a major issue and point of contention, but theContinue reading “China, the Philippines, and the Islands that are Tipping the World”
But I Thought We Were Friends? What Changing U.S. – China Relations Will Mean for the World
China has changed tact and begun to declare that it is the equal of the United States in the world order. Not in terms of economic size or military might, though it plans on getting there by 2049, but in terms of what constitutes a “legitimate” form of government, domestically and abroad. China believes itsContinue reading “But I Thought We Were Friends? What Changing U.S. – China Relations Will Mean for the World”
About Us
“Politics stops at the water’s edge” – Senator Arthur Vandenberg Access to news and insightful commentary on U.S. foreign policy and international relations has diminished in recent years, with news outlets reducing their presence overseas and cutting back the staff available to cover these topics. What is presented is usually from the perspective of howContinue reading “About Us”